My proclamations of love fell on deaf ears and a deaf heart.

She wanted proof, hard evidence.

She wanted my phone password,

She wanted my social media,

She wanted pictures to prove where I was.

My friends told me she was no good

But all I wanted was her touch

Even if the only way I got it is if she walked all over me.

She made sure to remind me how lucky I was to have her attention.

I felt lucky.

She said she loved me.

But I saw how she turned her phone away from me.

I saw how she suddenly got so busy on the weekends.

And I saw someone else's lipstick mark in the crook of her neck.

She reached for me,

Apologies stuttering out of her mouth like the exhaust on an old car.

"Don't leave"

"I'll change"

...

"I love you"

A painful lesson was learned that day.

If trust is not invested on both ends of any relationship,

It is no longer a committment.

It is something to pass the time until they find something more interesting-

Something new and exciting.

A love is not a love without trust.

That, for me, is the key to a healthy relationship.